


A Touch of Ink

by drarryismyhorcrux



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, I did my best, Tattoos, brief mention of drarry, covering old marks, i dont know how tattoos work, reclaiming self
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25421791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drarryismyhorcrux/pseuds/drarryismyhorcrux
Summary: Draco and Hermione decide to reclaim their identities through tattoos
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 49





	A Touch of Ink

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> I wrote this at 3am after realising I've seen a multitude of fics where Draco gets his mark covered, but none where Hermione does. I decided to remedy that.  
> Thank you so much to @bread-jesus420 on tumblr for betaing and to @OhHamilton for helping with my lack of tattoo knowledge!  
> Enjoy!

“So…”

“So… we go in?” Hermione looks warily at the dingy store front, noting the peeling paint, condensed windows and graphic writing sprawled across the glass reading ‘A Touch of Ink’ in a font that would look well placed on a rock album. The more she looked at it the more she questioned her decision.

“Right, after you,” Draco Malfoy strode forward and swung open the door, holding it open to allow her to pass. That was another oddity, Draco. Her former bully and tormenter turned colleague turned friend, and soon to be akin to a brother in law once Harry got his head out his arse and asked him out. They’d been dancing around each other for weeks, and there was only so long that Hermione could deal with the drunken flirting that would always inevitably occur on pub nights, although she supposed, that was unlikely to stop once the pair did finally admit they had feelings for each other. Merlin, what if it got even worse?

She smiled a tentative smile at Draco who she could see was also not entirely comfortable with the snap decision the pair had come to either, he was repeatedly running his thumb over his knuckles and she gently took his hand as she passed, stilling his movement before giving it a light squeeze of reassurance.

“So, we’re doing this then?” She exhaled and peered into the tattoo parlour, very aware that they were now hovering awkwardly with the door open.

Draco nodded, then cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. “Yes, we are.” He squeezed her hand back and smiled down at her before taking a deep breath and entering the shop.

It definitely wasn’t the best tattoo parlour in the world, but it had good reviews and was the only place that had appointments available at such late notice, and she was afraid that if she put this off it would never happen. She and Draco had been talking on their lunch break when he’d brought up the mark. Said something about not being worthy of her friendship, forever marred by his mistakes, or some other bull crap. She’d shown him her mark, the ‘mudblood’ scar carved into her arm, and asked if that meant she wasn’t worthy. It wasn’t the same, they both knew that, but it did still make her feel ruined somehow, sometimes. And so, they decided they wanted them gone, replaced by something else, something beautiful instead. Which is how they got here, to ‘A Touch of Ink’ on a Thursday afternoon.

And with that, they went through the consultation and before she knew it, Hermione was sat in the chair, an artist with vibrant green hair and bold tattoos down her arms smiling reassuringly at her. Hermione liked the idea of covering the scar with something muggle, ink that would be permanent in more ways than one. It wouldn’t move like wizarding tattoos, but it would remain on her forever, just as her heritage would forever be ingrained in her, down to her blood. She thought it a poetic justice as she watched the artist work and tiny beads of said blood welled up over the scar, not “mudblood” as Bellatrix had deemed, just blood, the same as anyone else’s. And it was a bonus that this time around, it hurt way less.

Draco wasn’t sure if this would even work, the dark mark wasn’t something that could simply be wished away, and he had tried that. The dark magic in it latches onto the very magical core of the wizard, sustaining itself and forever tying the bearer to the wizard who bestowed it. Well, not so much the last part now that Harry had kindly killed that bastard off. It had faded since the war but the lines were still bold against his pale skin, standing out darkly and blatantly in a way that meant Draco had been living in long sleeves for the past few years. The artist who looked over it for the cover up seemed surprised he wanted it gone, saying that it must have been an expensive piece. “Very,” Draco had answered grimly, thinking about all the ways he’d paid over and over again for this God forsaken mark. As he watched the artist work, he almost felt himself become physically lighter, watching it slowly disappear under new lines he had chosen for himself. And no, it hardly hurt at all.

~~~~

“Reveal on three?” Hermione was grinning, not only for herself, but also at the way Draco kept staring at his own forearm in awe, his face soft and unguarded.

“Yes, alright,” and they held out their arms now covered in art that meant something good, a new beginning and the final physical pieces of a war ingrained on their bodies finally buried.

From Hermione’s wrist, a tree now grew up her arm and over the scar completely, even when looking for it, it seemed hard to remember where exactly it had been. The branches of the tree spread out and seemed full of wildlife, but on closer inspection, books and scrolls could be seen nestled in the branches. “There’s nothing more mundane and muggle than an old paperback,” Hermione had said when choosing the design, “And books have saved my life on multiple occasions.” There was also a weaving of a silvery mist through the otherwise monochrome design, instantly recognisable as a Patronus charm, perfectly weaving muggle with magic, really, everything that Hermione was.

Draco’s arm was awash with colour, he’d opted to cover the mark with flowers, the natural beauty of them the complete antithesis to the intrinsic ugliness of the dark mark. Narcissus flowers framed the piece, for his mother, but the rest were all new and without connections, a fresh blank slate just for him. There were pink lilies and red roses, lavender and daisies, his arm now bursting with life where before there had only been death. Draco was mesmerised by it, his eyes drifting back to his arm in wonder at how the ink had blotted out the mark, it felt like he could finally be himself again in a way that he hadn’t felt since he got the mark in the first place.  
The pair looked down at their tattoos for what seemed like hours before finally back up at each other, both of them with their eyes swimming with unshed tears.  


“It’s perfect,” Hermione whispered, her other hand coming up to hover over a petal on one of Draco’s flowers.

Draco could only nod before Hermione engulfed him in a hug, a surprising feat considering how small she was compared to him.

“We did it,” he finally said into her hair and she let out a half sob half laugh before pulling back and smiling up at him.

“Yes, we did.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr!  
> 
> 
> [@harrypotterismyhorcrux](http://harrypotterismyhorcrux.tumblr.com)


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